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It’s been ages since I’ve posted here, and that’s mainly because I am doing new and different things, mainly nonfiction and focused on true crime, particularly serial killers. I have some upcoming nonfiction titles, as well as regular blog posts. It’s a site called Aberrant Nation.

So, just in case anyone wants to find me, I will be at http://aberrantnation.com/ from here on out. You can also find me at https://www.facebook.com/aberrantnation/

Have you been looking for something new to read? My publisher, Black Bed Sheet Books has a brand new anthology out in digital and paperback right now. The antho, edited by the talented Jason Gehlert and titled Read Us or Die, features horror authors from the BBS roster including Lincoln Crisler, Jennifer Caress, Jessica Lynne Gardner, and William Cook.

A story called “The Patchwork Boy” from my BBS collection Meat City is in the anthology as well. It’s one I enjoyed writing and I hope others enjoy reading. Enough of me though. If you like horror and you want to read some cool horror stories by some great folks, please check out Read Us or Die. I really think you’ll dig it.

You can check out the Amazon link here, or you can head to the BBS site.

As the title indicates, I found out recently that my story “Enlightened by Sin”, from Lincoln Crisler’s anthology Corrupts Absolutely? made the honorable mention list for Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year Volume 5 along with Weston Ochse and A.D. Spencer. You can find tons of great authors on the list, as well as in the actual book. Anthologies put together by Ellen Datlow are always worth reading.

Weston, A.D., and I also got a mention in the Summation 2012 section of the book that’s out now from Nightshade Books for those interested. Here’s an Amazon link. It’s available in paperback and digital.

I’m thankful for Lincoln for including my story in this anthology, and I’m very happy that Ms. Datlow enjoyed it.

As anyone who writes knows, self-doubt is a scourge that sits on our backs and haunts us. When we find out that someone we respect and have admired for years actually liked something that sprang from the nooks and crannies of our brain, it means a lot. Getting on this honorable mention list for the best horror of 2012 really does mean a lot to me.

Now, for anyone who wants to see “Enlightened by Sin”, you can buy it here. The sample is long enough that you can get a good taste of the stories within.

As many know, I am currently working on a comic book called Pieces for Shot in the Dark Comics. Pieces is a steampunk comic that is a blast to write and – I believe – is going to be something that people who love horror, fantasy, and steampunk are going to enjoy. I can’t say too much right now, but I’ll be adding a special section to my site just for the comic soon.

I’ve finished the first three issues, and am working on writing the next three for this arc of the steampunk comic right now, and I thought I might share a bit of inspiration I use.

Whenever I write anything, I like to have music on in the background – or sometimes blasting through the headphones. I tend to make playlists of songs that become soundtracks to whatever I might be working on at the time. I use these as inspiration whenever I need a boost during my writing. These aren’t all the songs on my list, but they should give you a good idea of the tone I’m going for with the story.

You’ll notice that I have quite a few from a band called Abney Park. I love this group, and the music is a perfect fit. However, I’ve got a few other bands in there as well, and if you have any suggestions for groups that could fit in this playlist let me know. I’m always looking for new music for my Pieces comic playlist!

Also, if you like these songs as much as I do, support the artists and buy them from Amazon, iTunes, or wherever you prefer to buy your music.

There we go, that’s a decent sampling of my current playlist. Now, I know that folks out there will have their own steampunk music and other music that they love. Let me know what else might fit along with this list so I can have some more ear candy while I’m writing.

I thought I’d let folks know that Wetwork is now available for Kindle ($1.99) and in paperback ($6.99). Click the picture below or the title to head to the Amazon page. Right now, this is an Amazon exclusive, but it will be coming to other platforms soon.

Here be vampires with nary a sparkle in sight.

For those who have read Lou vs. the Zombies, you might find a familiar name or two in this book. And for those who are looking forward to Lou Black’s next adventure, Lou vs. the Pack is getting closer. I have a whole bunch of other goodness coming soon as well.

Description: What happens when a hitman hiding from his former boss finds out that a vampire is hunting him? Joey Sanders and everyone he has ever cared for are about to find out…

From the author of Lou vs. the Zombies, Meat City, and Dead Ahead comes Wetwork, a horror/action novella.

Some interesting developments over the past couple of weeks. While I continue to toil away on my normal freelance work and try to make ends meet, I received some good news. Yours truly is going to be writing a comic book for Shot in the Dark Comics! The comic, titled Pieces, comes from the mind of Gene Tipton, publisher of the comic company.

(Once again, I’ve gotta thank Nick Grabowsky, the publisher of Black Bed Sheet Books, who published Meat City. I found out about Shot in the Dark Comics through him – they are the company turning Nick’s stories into stand alone comics seen here)

This is a steampunk/superhero styled comic that promises to be quite a bit of fun. I’ve always loved comics, and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to take over writing the book. Gene Tipton wrote the first issue, and I will be taking over duties from the second issue forward. I have some fun and wild ideas that I look forward to incorporating as well. I’ve already just about finished the synopsis for the first arc, and will be working on finishing up some scripts in the coming weeks.

In other writing news, I am going to be finishing up a few other prose projects in the next few weeks, hopefully. I am just about done writing Out in the Cold, a short horror novel. I’ve started work on Lou vs. the Pack as well, and that should be out in – hopefully- a couple of months. It’s gonna be a fun one. If you liked Lou vs. the Zombies, chances are that you’ll like this one too. Same Lou attitude, entirely different beastie and a new cast of entertaining characters.

I also have a couple of other things in the works, but I imagine people are tired of hearing about that sort of thing. I’ll try to blog about other things that might interest folks as well! I promise.

The short horror story “Dead Ahead”, which clocks in at more than 10,000 words, is now up and ready to download at Amazon. It’s going to be free on Amazon January 1 and January 2. After that, it’s just 99 cents. It also includes a free flash fiction piece called “Feeding Lizzie”.

Dead Ahead

It’s 1987 in Upstate New York. What secrets and horrors will fourteen-year old Andy Vinson and his friends behind an old taxidermist’s shop?

Give it a shot!

Plus, I may have some cool news to announce in the very near future! Yeah, I hate when people do that too, but there you have it.

Well, it’s nice to see that Lou vs. the Zombies cracked the top 100 in horror at iTunes, and Uneasy Reading is still at about the 110 or 112 mark depending on the day! Now, it would certainly be nice to see one of the zeroes disappear so I could be in the top 10 (insert appropriate emoticon here). Of course, that’s just this zombie guy’s dream.

Lou vs. the Zombies is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, Sony, and more. If you’ve read it, tell a friend. If you haven’t read it, give it a shot.

This weekend, I will come back and try to write a proper post rather than me just going on about me. Okay, it will probably still have to do with me, just maybe not so blatantly. I’ll probably give some updates on the projects I’m doing. If only I weren’t such a busy boy, I’d have more time for this and all of the (anti)social networking I should be doing.

I love Brian Keene’s work and thought Dark Hollow was a great horror novel, so it’s no wonder this movie trailer excites so much! If you haven’t read this novel, go and grab it. It’s well worth reading.

Since I couldn’t get the video to embed here, just go to Brian’s site and watch the video. Click here.